With an average age of 42 in both camps, you could have been forgiven if you thought last nights Qld Flood Relief Fundraiser #legendsofleague Rugby League match was going to be a friendly hit out to raise some much needed dosh for all those affected by the Qld flood tragedy. How wrong you were.

From the first bust – when Gorden Tallis produced a reminder of his rampaging dominant best to send Gary Belcher over the line for the opening try – it was clear the Maroons in particular had brought the passion and desire that has seen the present generation win the last five Origin Series.

The fierce NSW Vs Qld rivalry even brought out the passion of a former Australian cricket Andrew “Roy” Symonds who got into a push and shove with former Balmain great Benny Elias. With a call in the back ground from Mark Carroll, “if you’re going to hit him mate, make sure it hurts,” you knew this was no ordinary game.

Regular punter Tony Trim who paid $14,600 to be apart of this memorable experience at one stage even went nose to nose with Tallis in what will be a story to tell the grand kids.

The dream started a little over a week ago when Penrith great Mark Geyer announced he was putting this fundraiser together. With the help of Twitter he promoted the game, announced the teams and within minutes of the tickets going on sale all 20,000 were snapped up by footy lovers of all ages: some looking to bring back the memories of past Origin games, some seeing league legends stroll around the park for the very first time.

The end of the game saw Geyer hand over a cheque for $380,587 to Queensland Sports Minister Phil Reeves and the man once hated by Queensland faithful will forever be in their hearts.

Did you go to the match, if so let us know what you thought? Should this be an annual event?

3 Responses to “Legends of League Come Together”

Peter Ruz

31. Jan, 2011

Saw the game on Fox – what a great spectacle! A brilliant mix of fun and SOO intensity. And the fact that it was a fundraiser made it extra special. But please don’t make this an annual event, it would tarnish a great memory.